Plating Pretty

This week it's all about food...

So I'm watching Sunday Morning on CBS on Sunday and it was all about food. Food is love, where I come from, and the Sunday morning program served to solidify that fact. There was an interesting piece about a new staple in American restaurants called "plating".

Remember when your food was presented to you in a way that served the important food groups? A protein, a starch, a vegatable and so forth. All compartmentalized, like the paper plates with the sections spaced out, your food was placed on the plate side by side. Today, with the popularity of cooking shows and reality cooking competitions, that has changed. "Plating" the food has become the norm and even some chain restaurants are getting into the phenomenon. Plating, or food styling, is a way to present the food in the most artistic and appetizing way possible, like wrapping a present, the presentation is just as important. We are learning from the pros, by following food shows and competitions, and designing our plates to be things of beauty.

Food bloggers take pics of the foods presented to them on their blogs and social media sites are all abuzz with the pretty and pleasing presentations of food on a plate. The garnish, tying the plate together to make it a work of art.And they may be on to something.

Take a simple turkey dinner; instead of loading the food on in different sections, the food is sometimes presented from the inside of the plate out. All of your mom's favorites, piled expertly and beautifully with the gravy drizzled over it like the garland on a Christmas tree, the gourmet way is now the trend in our food obsessed culture. 

So on Thursday, don't lop a bunch of your favorites on the plate with no rhyme or reason, instead think of your plate as your own personal masterpiece. You may have more than a few people at the table who will ask you for a bite from your own "plating" Picasso.